Copyright © 2004 South-Western Supply, Demand, and Government Policies.

Copyright © 2004 South-Western

Supply, Demand, and Government Policies

Copyright © 2004 South-Western/Thomson Learning

Supply, Demand, and Government Policies

• In a free, unregulated market system, market forces establish equilibrium prices and exchange quantities.

• While equilibrium conditions may be efficient, it may be true that not everyone is satisfied.

• One of the roles of economists is to use their theories to assist in the development of policies.


CONTROLS ON PRICES

• Are usually enacted when policymakers believe the market price is unfair to buyers or sellers.

• Result in government-created price ceilings and floors.


CONTROLS ON PRICES

• Price Ceiling • A legal maximum on the price at which a good can

be sold.

• Price Floor• A legal minimum on the price at which a good can

be sold.


How Price Ceilings Affect Market Outcomes

• Two outcomes are possible when the government imposes a price ceiling:• The price ceiling is not binding if set above the

equilibrium price. • The price ceiling is binding if set below the

equilibrium price, leading to a shortage.


How Price Ceilings Affect Market Outcomes

• Effects of Price Ceilings

• A binding price ceiling creates• shortages because QD > QS.

• Example: Gasoline shortage of the 1970s

• nonprice rationing• Examples: Long lines, discrimination by sellers


• In 1973, OPEC raised the price of crude oil in world markets. Crude oil is the major input in gasoline, so the higher oil prices reduced the supply of gasoline.

• What was responsible for the long gas lines?

CASE STUDY: Lines at the Gas Pump

• Economists blame government regulations that limited the price oil companies could charge for gasoline.


CASE STUDY: Rent Control in the Short Run and Long Run

• Rent controls are ceilings placed on the rents that landlords may charge their tenants.

• The goal of rent control policy is to help the poor by making housing more affordable.

• One economist called rent control “the best way to destroy a city, other than bombing.”


How Price Floors Affect Market Outcomes

• When the government imposes a price floor, two outcomes are possible.

• The price floor is not binding if set below the equilibrium price.

• The price floor is binding if set above the equilibrium price, leading to a surplus.



• A price floor prevents supply and demand from moving toward the equilibrium price and quantity.

• When the market price hits the floor, it can fall no further, and the market price equals the floor price.



• A binding price floor causes . . .• a surplus because QS > QD.

• nonprice rationing is an alternative mechanism for rationing the good, using discrimination criteria.

• Examples: The minimum wage, agricultural price supports


The Minimum Wage

• An important example of a price floor is the minimum wage. Minimum wage laws dictate the lowest price possible for labor that any employer may pay.


TAXES

• Governments levy taxes to raise revenue for public projects.


How Taxes on Buyers (and Sellers) Affect Market Outcomes

• Taxes discourage market activity.

• When a good is taxed, the quantity sold is smaller.

• Buyers and sellers share the tax burden.


Elasticity and Tax Incidence

• Tax incidence is the manner in which the burden of a tax is shared among participants in a market.



• Tax incidence is the study of who bears the burden of a tax.

• Taxes result in a change in market equilibrium.

• Buyers pay more and sellers receive less, regardless of whom the tax is levied on.



• What was the impact of tax? • Taxes discourage market activity.• When a good is taxed, the quantity sold is smaller. • Buyers and sellers share the tax burden.

Figure 8 A Payroll Tax

Copyright©2003 Southwestern/Thomson Learning

Quantityof Labor

0

Wage

Labor demand

Labor supply

Tax wedge

Wage workersreceive

Wage firms pay

Wage without tax



• In what proportions is the burden of the tax divided?

• How do the effects of taxes on sellers compare to those levied on buyers?

• The answers to these questions depend on the elasticity of demand and the elasticity of supply.


So, how is the burden of the tax divided?

• The burden of a tax falls more heavily on the side of the market that is less elastic.

ELASTICITY AND TAX INCIDENCE


Summary

• Price controls include price ceilings and price floors.

• A price ceiling is a legal maximum on the price of a good or service. An example is rent control.

• A price floor is a legal minimum on the price of a good or a service. An example is the minimum wage.


Summary

• Taxes are used to raise revenue for public purposes.

• When the government levies a tax on a good, the equilibrium quantity of the good falls.

• A tax on a good places a wedge between the price paid by buyers and the price received by sellers.


Summary

• The incidence of a tax refers to who bears the burden of a tax.

• The incidence of a tax does not depend on whether the tax is levied on buyers or sellers.

• The incidence of the tax depends on the price elasticities of supply and demand.

• The burden tends to fall on the side of the market that is less elastic.

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